This invention is directed generally to new antimicrobial compounds and more specifically, to aryl isonitrile compounds as a new class of antimicrobial compounds.
Multidrug-resistant bacterial infections pose a significant global health challenge afflicting more than 2 million people each year in the United States alone, resulting in over 23,000 fatalities. Nearly half of these casualties are due to infections caused by a single pathogen, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Currently prevalent in the community setting, MRSA is responsible for a wide spectrum of illnesses from superficial skin infections to invasive diseases including pneumonia, osteomyelitis, and bloodstream infections. While a robust arsenal of antibiotics was once capable of treating MRSA infections, strains of this pathogen have emerged that exhibit resistance to nearly every class of antibiotics, including agents of last resort such as vancomycin and linezolid.
As can be seen, there is a need for need for the identification and development of novel therapeutic options capable of treating infections due to MRSA.